Four men were pulled to safety last Friday after being buried in corn in Linn County.

According to a release from the Linn County Sherrif, the accident happened Friday morning at a grain bin in Mount Vernon after two men started setting up to unload corn. The outer door opened causing the corn to rush out, covering Jared Youngblut and Allen Mallie.

Two other men, Shaun Lambertsen and Matt Hayek saw what had happened while passing by on a nearby Highway 1- but when they stopped to help, they were also trapped.

First responders were able to pull all four men out of the corn alive.

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According to a release by the Linn County Sherriff’s Office, Mallie, Lambertsen, and Hayek were assessed by medical professionals at the scene and were released.  Youngblut was taken from the scene in an ambulance for non-life-threatening injuries. It took more than an hour to rescue the four men.

Cedar Rapids Fire Department
Cedar Rapids Fire Department
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Cedar Rapids Grain Bin

In late January, there was another grain bin incident when Darrell Benish fell and was trapped in a 7,000-bushel grain bin. Benish was stuck in the bin for around two hours with grain covering him up to his shoulders.

Brian Hall, Cedar Rapids fire captain, was the first on the scene and says they were lucky.

“To have a situation like this where we can make a rescue and the person survives, very rare,” said Hall.

To help release as much corn as possible, first responders cut four holes in the bin. Benish’s position in the bin is a factor in the corn trapping him as it did.

“He was probably six feet inside the door. Which also I think accounted for some of the crushing factors. He was not in the center and everything coming at him from all directions,” said Hall.

 

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